As part of our five-year strategic plan for continued growth and excellence, I am announcing several organizational changes and administrative appointments within the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (TCOM).

Alan Podawiltz, DO, MS, has been appointed to serve as acting dean. Dr. Podawiltz will take over the responsibilities of Marc Hahn, DO, TCOM dean and senior vice president of health affairs, who has stepped down effective November 5.

We thank Dr. Hahn for his dedicated service to TCOM and for building the school’s national reputation as a leader in primary care education.

A committee will be formed shortly under the leadership of Provost Thomas Yorio to conduct a national search for the dean’s position.

Dr. Podawiltz, who is currently chair and assistant professor of the Psychiatry Department, has been with the Health Science Center since 2003. He is also chair of Psychiatry for John Peter Smith Health Network and training director for the American Osteopathic Association’s Psychiatry Residency Program at John Peter Smith Hospital. He has been a member of the Texas Osteopathic Medical Association since 2002.

Bruce Dubin, DO, JD, has been promoted to serve in a new position, as vice dean of the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. In this new capacity, Dr. Dubin will be responsible for all areas of TCOM academic affairs and educational programs, including pre-clinical curriculum, clinical education, graduate medical education, and admissions and outreach. Dr. Dubin, currently TCOM associate dean for academic affairs, has been with the Health Science Center since 2003 and was named Educator of the Year by the AOA in 2007.

Robert Adams, DO, has agreed to assume the position of vice president/chief medical officer for UNT Health. Dr. Adams previously served as TCOM senior associate dean of clinical affairs and chief medical officer for UNT Health. Dr. Adams will continue his faculty and clinical role in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Joel Daboub, MBA, has been promoted to assistant dean for Admissions and Outreach for both the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine and the School of Health Professions. In this new capacity, he will be responsible for all areas of admissions for the medical school, Department of Physician Assistant Studies, and the developing physical therapy degree program. Daboub, currently the director of admissions and outreach for TCOM, has been with the Health Science Center since 2004.

Elizabeth Palmarozzi, DO, has decided to step down as chair of TCOM’s Department of Family and Community Medicine. Dr. Palmarozzi has served as the chair of the combined departments and will be rejoining the faculty in the Department of Family Medicine. We thank Dr. Palmarozzi for her service in leading and growing the department. We have taken this opportunity to re-organize this department into two separate departments -- the Department of Family Medicine and the Department of Community Medicine -- to better serve students and patients.

The Department of Family Medicine will continue to serve patients at the Patient Care Center, Eagle Ranch Clinic, Westside Clinic and others, as well as support the education of our students and create knowledge through research.

Roberto Cardarelli, DO, MPH, has been named acting chair of the Department of Family Medicine. Dr. Cardarelli, a 2001 graduate of TCOM and our School of Public Health, is currently associate professor of Family and Community Medicine and executive director and founder of the Primary Care Research Institute/NorTex. He has been with the Health Science Center since 2004.

The Department of Community Medicine works with the Tarrant County Hospital District to provide direct patient care services across Tarrant County.

Robert Richard, DO, has been named acting chair of the new Department of Community Medicine. Dr. Richard, a 1990 TCOM graduate, is currently assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. He has been with the Health Science Center since 2005 and JPS Health Network since 1994.

We are also expanding the TCOM Department of Medical Education under Bruce Dubin with the addition of the Department of Pathology faculty. The Center for Human Identification will now be a part of the Health Institutes of Texas as an independent center.

The Department of Physician Assistant Studies will move to the School of Health Professions. The department will continue to collaborate with the faculty of TCOM, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and UNT Health; however, it will have independent leadership to better respond to student needs, substantially expand faculty and create a top physician assistant studies curriculum. Hank Lemke, MMS, PA-C, will continue to serve as chair of the department and director of Physician Assistant studies.

With this change, the School of Health Professions under Dean Warren Anderson, EdD, now includes the Department of Physician Assistant Studies and the Department of Physical Therapy, chaired by Clayton Holmes PT, EdD.